To remove snow or not?

With the start of football practice less than a week away and Week 1 scheduled for March 19, athletic directors must decide how to prep the game and practice fields.

Do they remove the snow or let Mother Nature take care of it?

Marquette moved the snow off its field with a John Deere tractor and then had Conroys Towing come in with a plow and remove the snow.

Princeton hasn’t done anything with the snow on Bryant Field yet but has started removing it from the football and soccer practice fields with a snowblower.

“We will evaluate how it works on the practice field and then work on a plan for the game field,” Princeton AD Jeff Ohlson said. “We hope to have it ready for soccer and football season, and we will do everything we can to get the field to hold up. We may have to play some soccer and football games at our other fields.”

Although Marquette and Princeton have cleared or are in the process of clearing their fields, other athletic directors are in the planning stages.

“We have started the conversations about moving the snow off of our field,” St. Bede AD Nick McLaughlin said. “Our facilities staff were down there [Monday] with a plow and other equipment to begin the process. The snow is very heavy and wet, so it is producing some challenges.

“We want to get the snow off the field before it completely melts and makes for a muddy mess – not only for the spring season but to make sure it can be ready for this fall, as well.”

McLaughlin said St. Bede also plans to remove snow from the practice field, but the Bruins also have the option of doing some training in an old bus garage that’s been turned into a facility with heat and turf.

LaSalle-Peru AD Dan Le said he also has started to discuss how best to clear the snow off the newly installed artificial turf at Howard Fellows Stadium.

“We had a meeting regarding the snow removal and are looking into specialized pushers to remove the snow off the turf safely,” Le said.

At Ottawa, AD Mike Cooper said he’s going to see how things play out with the weather.

“At this moment, we are waiting to see what the weather looks like the next couple of days before we make a decision,” Cooper said.

He said Ottawa will focus on the practice field first.

“We would remove snow from our practice field before we do our game field,” Cooper said. “Hopefully, a couple of warmer days will help.

“I think the field will be ready by the time we have our first home game. We are on the road Week 1. Our game field sits at a higher elevation than our practice fields, so that will help.”

Other schools, such as Hall, are letting the warmer temperatures take care of the snow.

Although how to handle the snow on the field is the immediate concern, ADs also are worried about how the fields will hold up this spring.

“I’m nervous to say the least,” McLaughlin said. “The ground is going to be pretty hard right now, but all it takes is another snowstorm or warmer temps with rain, and it could present many different challenges. The goal is for the field to be playable this spring but also be able to be ready for the fall season.”

Hall AD Eric Bryant said he’s hoping Mother Nature will cooperate.

“All I can say is we have our fingers crossed for a dry spring, but the chances aren’t very good,” Bryant said. “We are just going to have to deal with whatever comes.”

Marquette AD Todd Hopkins expects all fields to suffer damage this spring.

“Unless you have turf, all football fields are going to get punished this spring,” Hopkins said. “After the season, we will address its needs.”

Schools such as L-P and Mendota do have the advantage of artificial turf.

“It’s definitely an advantage to not have to worry about frozen ground and muddy conditions,” Le said.

Le said L-P has had other schools inquire about using Howard Fellows Stadium this spring.

“Our priority right now is to get the snow removed and have it ready for use,” Le said.